Financial Hardship Among People With Disabilities: United States
Longstanding discriminatory policies and practices that impact access to education, employment, health care, housing and other resources create barriers to financial stability for people with disabilities, a report from United for ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) finds. The report, Financial Hardship Among People With Disabilities: United States (14 pages, PDF, and interactive dashboard), found that while 18 percent of people with disabilities, or 7.2 million people, had incomes below the Federal Poverty Level (FPL), an additional 34 percent, or 13.6 million, had incomes below what was needed to afford basic expenses. The study also found that in 2019, people with disabilities were more than three times as likely to be out of the labor force as people without disabilities (56 percent vs. 17 percent), and even among people with disabilities who worked full-time, 27 percent were below the ALICE threshold. Among people ages 25 and over with only a high school diploma or GED, 52 percent of those with disabilities were below the ALICE threshold, compared with 36 percent of those without disabilities.
